


Black

by Sho (Shokitty)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Kuron (Voltron) Deserves Better, Kuron (Voltron) Lives, Kuron (Voltron)-centric, Kuron is Kuro (Voltron), Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, M/M, Omega Verse, Post-Canon Fix-It, Shiro is bad at names, Shirocest, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-07 14:11:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18412265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shokitty/pseuds/Sho
Summary: He would give his all for them. He would give up his life if that meant saving both of them.I he could save even more, he was willing to go back, suffering anything that was needed so he could get the future he desired for Shiro and Keith, because he didn't care about himself at all, he didn't care about having to comply to stupid time travel rules, jumping between timelines, it didn't matter in the end if he could get what he wanted. And he was not alone, Allura had given him enough to work with, so he was going to get this fixed.--------------------------------------------Or the fanfic where I use Kuron to write an AU and fix the mess that was Voltron at the end. New tags! Get ready for that ABO dynamics!





	1. Ending

**Author's Note:**

> Gee, where the hell do I start with this? First of all, hello. I was thinking about expanding my previous Sheith fic but the idea of making something more like Shiro/Keith/Kuron centric and also having Kuron as my protagonist was tempting, so I gave in and started to write something like this, then I disliked it and rewrite all of it again. This is going to be long, very long, because we're going back to the very moment Kuron appeared, probably.
> 
> After that, well, I am still not sure about what I'm gonna be doing with the alternate reality but I have some ideas. Maybe I can send him to another reality where everything is the same but there are small changes, I can mix this with a soulmate AU, with an omegaverse AU, but that's still in the 'We'll see...', for now, enjoy this small prologue that will show how I'm making up my excuse for Kuron to be 1) Alive. 2) Ready for action.
> 
> Enjoy it, my fellow Sheith shippers, I assure you there will be lots of soft and fluffy moment but, we start here suffering.

He had been looking into a void the very moment something entirely different and yet familiar had taken control of his body, he could see small glimpses of what he was doing, of course, well...not him, his body was acting under orders from someone else entirely and all this time he had been having black outs ouf of nowhere it was because of this, he had realized late, too late. And yet he was still there, alive and being able to look around inside his mind, before noticing something strange, he could see his body piloting a ship towards a strange place but his mind told him that place was _familiar_ , was almost like a _home_.

Suddenly he could control himself better, he was able to pilot better, to choice that place, and he hadn’t noticed it was something he had done until clarity came to his vision, in the back of his mind everything was still connecting and fighting to make some sort of sense but, he knew, he had know all of this time that he was a fake, someone who was never intended to exist, he wasn’t the real Shiro and pictures, scattered, horrible, something that shouldn’t even be possible, flashed through his mind.

The worst part being the fact that it wasn’t the first time, he had seen all of this before, he had remembered all of it before. When he had escaped the galra facility that had him. He was lying there, in the ice cold planet, looking at the sky and, yes, he remembered, he had thought how pretty the sky was when it was real, not a memory, not a movie playin through his mind that had been experienced by someone else.

And yet he had choose selfishly, he had thought about dying there, and it scared him, he wanted to live, to feel all of that on his own, to be able to have a chance, to be someone in the Universe.

He, then, closed his mind and forgot about it all, painting it as a trauma, as part of his - _rather, the real one’s_ \- PTSD, he knew he was in a bad place when it came to mental health, but he never wanted to admit how bad it was, if he were Shiro then he could have dealed with it a lot better than lashing out on everyone because everything seemed too much sometimes, everything seemed too hard, everything seemed, always, too something. There was always an excuse as to why he was doing whatever he did, but there was no need for that anymore.

His vision got blurry once again when he landed on the Galra facility and so he was staring at the void once again, but inside of his mind he was feeling alright, worried, but alright, there was no way for Keith to lose against a he that wasn’t truly him. Keith was one of the few people he could count on and he knew that whatever that was about to happen wasn’t going to be as horrible or hard as it was when he got mad because his friend couldn’t be with them for the Voltron Show or anything like that.

Thinking back on that, he knew he wasn’t himself and probably lashed onto Keith way more than what he actually needed to, he remembers orders in the back of his mind telling him to not lost touch with the Red Paladin, to keep him close so he could know more about that organization of his, but he made sure to make Keith go away, so far away that he couldn’t hurt him, it wasn't only because the memories of Shiro told him that he loved Keith with all his soul, mind and body, it was because upon knowing him, meeting him face to face, he had felt something odd, he was terribly attracted to Keith, and then he realized he was in love with him as well, not because of Shiro, but because of himself.

What took him out of his neverending fall of thoughts was some flashes, a small glimpse into the fight that was taking place at the moment, he could hear himself saying such cruel and horrible things to Keith, to the person he loved the most, and wanted to scream how wrong everything was, he wanted to tell Keith to kill him, to get rid of him, he wasn't Shiro, he wasn't the Shiro that Keith wished to bring back. He just let himself fall even more deep into the madness, the control, the power, and ir hurt, it hurt so much that he wanted to escape, to run away, to _die_.

—Shiro, please, you're my brother...I love you.—

It had been so soft, so low. If he hadn’t been paying attention he could have probably missed it, but there it was.

Suddenly he was seeing himself, in able body and mind, looking at Keith, burning his right cheek, marking him with his sword, hurting him so much he almost wanted to throw himself over the edge, but even so he was still talking through the voice of someone else, through the orders of a witch, and then...

There was silence.

His right arm sliced away from his body, his mind becoming clear, his eyes looking directly at Keith.

—Keith...— He had said, whispering, almost pleading for him to end his life right there, to not let anything like this happen again but he was...happy. Satisfied. Or so he thought when he let himself fall into the darkness to never see another day again, his last sight being Keith almost rushing to his side, then a glimpse of he, he and his pretty face falling with him. He remembers moving his arms to hold him, but failing to stay awake for long enough to actually do it.

Everything became darkness after that.

* * *

He was dying, or so he heard, but then again, Shiro was dead and inside Black's quintessence, so, maybe they just felt better if he died as well. He never expected the Princess to actually place Shiro’s mind inside him, and as well, he never expected to meet Shiro face to face, or at least what could count as face to face while being in the same mind, in the same body.

But he knew he had to make place for Shiro's mind, so he could control his body, and so, he never talked directly to him, only watched him sleep, his dreams, his memories and for the first time, he could feel all of it, everything that happened in those memories actually felt real, felt as if those were his own memories. There was some overlapping with him watching from Black and he being with the team but, something that was extremely present in all of the thoughts Shiro had was Keith. Keith everywhere.

He felt at ease.

Takashi Shirogane loved Keith as much a he did. So he could go to sleep, never to be seen again, or so he thought.

* * *

The first time he had been in the back of Shiro’s mind telling him something, anything, had been when he decided to change lions making him, the one inside his mind, uncomfortable, and had talked to him about it while everyone slept.

He didn’t knew how to do it, he just knew he had to talk, and so he wished for it, suddenly seeing himself within what, from Shiro's memories, could be called the Astral plane inside of the lions, there was Shiro, in front of him, he looked confused and so did he, but he had to do it and so, he walked towards him.

—You're that...one.— _Clone_ , he wanted to say, right? —You are alive, but, why are you...—

—I’m not gonna go berserk anytime soon, or ask for this body back, whatever you're thinking just let it fucking go, I’m here to ask what the fuck are you doing changin’ lions when you clearly need to talk with Keith.— He learned from this point that he was more upfront than Shiro if he wanted to, also, when he wanted something he just took it while Shiro seemed to calculate the risk.

—I need...time, I don't know about you-...me...what should I call you?— An unexpected question, something he never thought about, he just looked away. —You don’t have a name?—

—I was called Kuron, _Project_ Kuron.— Replied, but looked away, that wasn't much of a name, actually, then Shiro laughed, —the fuck is funny to you?—

—I can call you Kuro,— Shiro offered, with a soft smile plasted on his face, —I am Shiro, figures that my clone would be Kuro, you can be, I don't know, Takeshi Kurogane.— There was again, a big smile towards him, which he didn’t like but he was even more anxious about talking with him.

This gigantic idiot gave him a name, a whole fucking name, without skipping a beat and he was left with the heavy task to reply to that. Frankly, it was amazing and he felt something warm fill him, it was as if someone was giving him an identity, something to grab onto, but at the same time it was dangerous, he could get pretty far away from him and cause problems inside his mind. —Kuro is fine.—

—Then just accept the whole name, it suits you, and I can help to grasp my mind about this whole ‘talking to myself’ better.— He had a point, a weird one but it was a point. —In any case, Kuro, I changed lions, yes, I have to think about this whole thing, I’m still not over the fact I died and then brought back to life because I stayed in the weird mind-space of a big giant space cat,— Shiro was looking at him all the time, trying to make his point and, well, he...he understood because that was a hell of a ride, —and while I'm at it, I need to come to terms with the fact I was cloned, and this is a clone's body, and you are here, talking to me, which can either mean you are an entire different person from me rather than just my clone, which makes everything worse because, oh my god, can you fucking believe I took the body of someone else? With _them_ alive?—

It was a hell of a point now, and he felt bad for wanting to force him to go back with Keith. For him it wasn’t really that bad, he had come to terms with the whole situation the very moment he lost his own independency and Shiro was a whole new mess to deal with, he could help, but he had to ask that outloud for Shiro to know which was something that went beyond what he could force himself to do, mostly because he was still intimidated by his real self. —Anyway, once you get this thing figured out, can we go back with Keith? I really think we should talk about a lot of things and, well, you really need to express a lot of stuff that you never let out.— Shiro looked at him a bit confused, but eventually laughed.

He promised he was going to let his mind go as clean as possible, he said that they could talk for a bit while it was night, but Kuro didn’t really felt like he should do that. If anything bad were to happen maybe marking a line between the two of them would become a problem later on and the body could reject Shiro once again, even if the stupid giant didn’t thought about it. He just stayed there, listening to him and reassuring him that _he could_ and _will_ hear everything he wanted to, he will listen, if anything happened, he was going to be _there_.

In the end, neither of them was going to be alone.

—I’d have given everything to have someone, even if it was only inside my mind, to talk to while in the Astral plane, and you’re great for this. I don’t need to really explain myself, you just understand.—

—A perk of being your clone.— He smiled, and let Shiro ramble for the whole night, it was about everything that happened, the weird mix of memories they got there when they fused and how he was still trying to pierce all of that back.

Before going back to his quiet darkness, where he could only listen to Shiro and come out if needed, he was able to hear his real self laugh about the time he wanted to be a Paladin for at least three full rounds of Monsters and Mana.

That felt good.

* * *

The second time he had to come out, wasn’t really because he wanted to, rather, Shiro just called for him in a muffled sob. He learned a lot about his real self in that moment, Shiro was a wall of iron on the outside, never showing a lot of his emotions when those were negative because he never wanted anyone to be upset for him nor he wanted pity, he just wanted to show his happiness and those parts of himself that were like a small easy to excite puppy.

He had appeared, looking around and found himself in Shiro’s memories of the Garrison, they were in his old quarters even if they still had the black armor of Voltron on, which made an interesting contrast as to what was the state of Shiro’s mind. —I suppose you’re dealing with Adam’s death, I could feel your pain but, I think if I were in your place I wouldn’t have suffered this much.— Looking at the figure in the couch, not crying but breaking, slowly, to the point where he would actually cry. —...It wasn’t _our_ fault, we wanted to go into space, Shiro. We _have_ no time, we...—

—I know.— A soft whisper, he was almost trembling because of the frustration, the anger, but to whom he directed all of that? — _We_ should have protected the Earth, _we_ ** _are_** the defenders of the Universe or some fucking bullshit like that. What good is a defender of the Universe if he can’t even protect his own home? I couldn’t keep them safe, I survived, I killed so many of them, I killed so many of those poor prisioners, and it was to survive, to come back, to alert the earth.— Gray eyes looked at him, searching for answers and pleading for some sort of relief, something to make him feel better, to tell him that it wasn’t his fault.

—We lost a whole year, Shiro. It was my fault. If I didn’t exist, if I...— The look Shiro gave him now was more of angry than anything. —You know it’s true.—

—No, it wasn’t your fault, you didn’t even knew Haggar was going to use you to save her son, and we didn’t knew Lotor was so beyond saving, we didn't knew the explosion was going to take us into a stupid kind of wormhole and shooting us to one entire year later.— Well, he truly was a good help, making Shiro having to assure him about his own doubts instead of him actually helping.

—We are back, Lieutenant, think about that.— Shiro was surprised. —We can’t change the past, but sure as hell we can take revenge, let me help with that. Let me help with you getting back at them. Let me help you get your anger out.— Kuro was actually ready to help him fight, to destroy Sendak and kick his ass all the way to Arus and back, so Shiro wouldn’t have to deal with it anymore, so Shiro wouldn't have to suffer for it anymore.

It wasn’t like he didn’t hurt because of Adam, it hurt, he felt horrible as soon as he knew about him, but he didn’t let that decide what he was going to do, or bring him down, he just had to keep going, because they already had a new family, and he never liked Adam in his memories anyway, but for Shiro it was an entire different story.

—You never checked yourself, Kuro.— Soft voice, midly amused, it was Shiro talking about something he didn't understand. —You didn’t notice?—

—What?—

—You never kept your muscles in check or anything like that, you just kept going around without having pain.— The realization suddenly punched him, and he was at a loss for words. He was right. Even if he knew because of his memories, he just never felt any actual pain and forgot about the whole illness thing, he never bothered with going to the medical bay and asking Allura if he was alright. He never did anything of that. He just kept going in his day to day like he had never been ill in his life.

Because he had never been ill.

—I appreciate your input, your willingness to go take revenge for me, but I don’t know, I really just want you to hear me out, to let me talk with someone who knew, even if it was just from memories you knew about it, about him, about my whole life. I just need a moment.—

From this very moment, Kuro knew something was going wrong, terribly wrong.

But he didn't knew how to fix it.

So he didn’t bothered with it. He just listened, he just stayed there, in those Garrison quarters of old, inside of their connected mind. And he listened.

He _should have done_ something once Shiro started to blame himself for Adam's death, for him being alone, for him not being able to be there to tell him that he was alive.

He _should have done_ a million of things.

_But he didn’t._

* * *

After that, he stayed a little more awake, just a bit more present within Shiro’s mind, and he watched everything, he was called a third, a fourth, and more times, but he could see it clearly, how slowly they drifted away from Keith and it was something he hated, and he tried to talk with Shiro about it but every damn time seemed too soon, too busy, too late, and how in the hell you were able to be too damn busy to pay attention to your fucking mind?

He probably shouldn’t ask about that, actually. But there was one day, after the mess that was their last day in earth before the final mission, they had coming a nice day later, Clear day.

And he took the chance.

—Takashi.— He called, when they were alone. Not that it mattered, they were always alone inside their mind but, he didn't wanted Shiro to suddenly space out and worry all the fucking crew of the Atlas. —You know, Clear day coming and such, I was thinking about it...maybe we can have a nice day for us, leave the Atlas, go enjoy being alive, that kind of shit.—

Shiro appeared soon. Now they were wearing Atlas’ uniforms, but he didn't question right now how inside his mind Shiro pictured him with a cadet uniform rather than a Lieutenant or something alike. —I was actually thinking the same, we’ve been pretty busy and this should come as something quite enjoyable.— He beamed, it was the first time they actually agreed on something that involved the Atlas, the crew, the Paladins. —Also, the guys need the rest, specially Lance with, you know...—

—With Allura not being really well, yeah I understand. She must feel terrible about the Alteans, I do hope she can come. Maybe we can hang out together, all of us.—

—Takeshi, are implying something?— He didn’t knew since when they started to go on first name basis but he liked it, except when Shiro used _that_ fucking tone, — **you** want to hang out with Keith.— His face must been a fucking poem, with all the red shades on it. —I got it.—

—Look, I wouldn't want that unless you know, you wanted that as well, we are the same, you piece of idiot-...agh, anyway, are we doing this or not?— Shiro closed the space between the two and suddenly he was being hugged, tight but softly, almost lovely, and he couldn't help but feel a whole new level of red soming to his fucking face. —What?—

—Nothing, I’m just glad I have you inside of my mind, kinda helps to relax after what have been happening, even if you get mad at me for not saving Keith.— He looked at Kuro right to his eyes, making him nervous and almost wanting to run away. —You wanted to save him so badly our body didn’t knew what to do, we just stayed there like idiots.—

—I am terribly sorry for that, if anything had happened to him...— Shiro reassured him that, as long as he kept his protective instincs in check, he was going to take care of Keith.

He had promised.

—We’re going to clear day tho, so you can snap every now and then if you wanna win a prize, I’ll consider it a present from you to me.—

—Get the FUCK out!— Shiro had learned how to press all of his buttons, as if it was hard, he had absolutely zero to no patience compared to him, bt he didn't understood anything about that, why Shiro was like this with him, why Shiro was so lovely with him.

He wanted him to be like that with Keith!

He wanted to at least see Keith’s happy face everyday!

Something had gone wrong. He could feel it.

—Takeshi, just enjoy yourself when we arrive, please.—

—I will try, but you, Takashi, stop. Just let things flow, and you’ll find yourself with the person you love the most, I know that. And stop joking around me, I’m just your second concience, remember? The one that can scream and yell, and suddenly snap to make you punch Sendak with a bit more force than what you need.— He smiled.

Shiro had looked at him a bit confused, but then smiled back and went away, without answering him.

He never understood why that made him feel terribly sorry.

* * *

Clear day was the start of the end.

Shiro refused to talk with him whenever it came to Curtis and him, he would just send him back to the darkness and never listen unless it was about the battle, about the other paladins -Keith excluded- or about Allura herself.

Suddenly he found himself standing in the middle of a white place, seeing through Shiro’s eyes how Allura was going to die, he saw Lance crying, he saw Keith by Shiro’s side, and then, Allura went away. She died.

She vanished.

It came like a shock but suddenly he was more than angry, they went back to earth, they could see New Altea, they could see Daibazaal and he just hid himself inside the deepest part of Shiro’s mind not wanting to know anything else. He didn’t want to confront him about it. Shiro found him every time.

He would call him by the name he had offered, and he would yell at him for letting things go so wrong, so fucking wrong.

He didn't have to. He didn't have to worry. If he just had stayed asleep since the very beginning, he wouldn’t be suffering and now, he couldn’t even do that, he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t run away.

One day, he broke.

—...You're...what?— Kuro looked at Shiro with a face that said all, he wanted for that to be a joke.

—I’m getting married, I’m marrying Curtis. I just thought I would like you to know so you don’t, you know, snap suddenly and ask him who the fuck is he and where is Keith, like the previous seven times you have done this.— If he had done it, he didn’t remember, because his snaps, lately, were pretty much a blur, he would just feel alive one second and then he would open his eyes facing the illusion of Shiro’s quarters that now started to fall apart, sometimes it was his quarters, sometimes it was the Castle of Lions, sometimes it even was a small house that made him feel sick.

—I don’t know who the fuck he is, I can’t control when I want to go see Keith and I don’t see why you can. Why are you marrying a nobody?— Shiro seemed angry and he raised his hands. —Shut your mouth a fucking second and let me talk. I didn’t let you have this body so you could fuck your own life. Retiring? Marrying the first person you saw on bridge? Letting Keith go away to who fucking knows where? That's not exactly what I had pictured when _he saved us_ and placed your death mind inside of me.— He was angry, he couldn't help it.

—...You think I can just go and marry Keith?— He asked. —Takeshi, this is the rest of my life, I’m talking about my whole future.—

—You’re fucking it up, Takashi.— He almost growled. —Why can’t you marry him? You love him, I love him, he loves you, he would, god, I bet he would be here if we just asked him to, we could be out there, helping-...—

—I’m tired.— Kuro didn’t expect that, slowly looking to him, —I wanted nothing but the stars, I wanted nothing but go far and beyond, I thought the space, the Universe was the place I belong to, but by doing so, I let everything around me fall apart, _I let_ Adam die.— Shiro looked so sad, so tired and so resigned.

The illusion around them crumbled, and he could notice it, they were no longer connected, but the body wasn’t rejecting Shiro, it was rejecting him.

His anger, his frustration.

His desire to run away and find Keith.

He could no longer talk to him, even if he kept looking at him, he could see Takashi screaming his name, getting closer and never reaching him.

He had give up.

—What can I do? I can’t go back in time and fix this mess.— He whispered, looking around him and slowly setting his own illusion, it lacked color, it was mostly different shades of black that slowly turned a bit bright and resembled something like Keith’s shack.

Yeah, he could spend the rest of his life there, tucked inside bed and resfusing to believe in the reality Shiro had created, not that it would help but, at least he didn't have to attend the stupid wedding, he didn't have to see Keith, he didn't have to see anything.

He just rested there, while Shiro's life played sometimes in the background, sometimes still calling him.

The last time he heard Shiro’s voice was before the wedding, and he turned around for a second, seeing Shiro looking at himself in the mirror, whispering. —Kuro, please, let me talk with you. I just want this day to be the greatest, I need you here. I wanted to have a life that could let you enjoy peace.— It was all an excuse, he knew.

**_No, Takashi._ **

**_You just gave up._ **

He replied, not knowing if that reached his real self, and then, went back to sleep. Not having anything else to care about in his life, that was not his.

It was never _their_ life.

It was Shiro’s life.

So, he just gave up as well.

The connection finally broke completely. And he was engulfed by absolute darkness.

Was it death?

What was going to happen to him? He wasn’t even human. Was there a place for a clone like him?

As if he could care about that.

He fucked up, and all he wanted was to forget. Not noticing how there was even more pain inside of his chest every second he tried to forget, because Shiro gave him something no one did, no one else could.

And he felt useless.

He couldn’t save Keith.

He couldn’t save Shiro.

What use could have a puppet like him if the two people he loved the most couldn't be happy even when he could have helped?

And that was when it hit him for the first time.

He loved them. Both of them.

And he would give his life away again just for them, if anything in the universe could give him a chance. He would do it. Gladly.

And yet no one heard him.


	2. As you're ending, I'm about to begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It made some sort of sense, if he thought about it, Shiro suddenly changed a lot, everyone just went with it but they never seemed to be completely fine with the turn of events, they never seem to be sure where they were, Keith himself put a lot of distance within them because he had to do other things and, if he really thought about it, maybe the reason all of that never affected him, Kuro, was because he was being shielded by Shiro. Hell, he could even make an assumption there and think that maybe Shiro, at the end, had been mixed with another version of himself that actually succeeded in taking over the entirety of Shiro and just never revealed it was him. That sounded fucked up. It was a stretch but it wasn’t totally impossible.
> 
> —So, how can I help you fix this?—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already had the idea of what I wanted to do with this one, but the next ones may be harder to think about, mostly because I'm still unsure as to what mechanics implement in the alternate reality. Also I'm terribly sorry if this is way too violent sometimes, and I promise the Sheith is coming as well, this is just gonna be really slow, as well with Kuro and Shiro and Kuro and Keith. The title from this one comes from Devil May Cry 4, credits song: Shall never surrender, felt like it fit this fanfic as a whole so probably gonna use more phrases from it.
> 
> I thank all of you for your kudos and your bookmarks! If you want, feel free to leave a comment on what you'll like to see fixed from S( (I know, there's so much to fix, I'm sorry!) and drop by on my twitter if you want to talk about this or anything Sheith to be honest, I'm over at [zenzenxdameda](https://twitter.com/zenzenxdameda)
> 
> Have a great weekend and hopefully next tuesday I'll have chapter three up. Hopefully. I can't assure you because there's so much I'm filling that chapter with I don't even know.
> 
> Fair warning: I didn't edit this one a lot, just gave a quick read over and posted it. Sorry! Lack of time.

—Shiro, Shiro...Shiro, wake up.— Someone was calling, but that was not his name. That was the name of his real self.

No. If he recalled, there used to be a time when he was Shiro, he would reply to that name.

—Shiro. You can wake up.— The voice, which he noticed it was a female one, talked to him softly, with patience and almost a small vibe of warmness, as if she was trying to not scare him. —...Did you have a different name?—

His eyes slowly opened, and he could look around, he was floating within a empty white space, but he felt no fear, he felt nothing but warm, he felt a bit like he was in a place where he was safe.

—Oh! You woke up, I’m so glad.— He looked around, but there was nothing. —Do you remember me? if you remember me, I think I can appear.— Remember?

That voice, it had been a long time since he hard it.

But yeah, he remembered, —Princess Allura?—

The figure of a woman appeared in front of him, white long hair loose and long, her eyes looking at him with a happiness he was sure he had never saw on her face. She was wearing a dress, blue and white, not quite the same as she used to but still it fit her. Suddenly he was embraced and hugged tight.

—I’m so glad you replied. I never believed Lance and I’m sorry about that. I never noticed you were there.— He was completely confused. What was happening?

—So you know I’m not Shiro, right?—

—I’m aware. Lance told me that sometimes Shiro would look distant, lost in thought, and he had this crazy theory that you, the other Shiro, were still alive inside of Shiro’s mind. Somehow I didn’t want to think about it because I wasn’t sure if you were safe to keep around, I think I touched the subject only one time with Shiro and he evaded me.— But she looked happy right now. —And I’m glad you are alive.—

—Does this count as alive? I am in a weird white space, not knowing how much time I have been there and then you called me, you, who if I remember correctly, gave up her life in order to fix the entire Universe and the alternate realities.— He was a bit amused, but couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face. —Am I alive?—

—You’re alive. But, you wouldn’t reply to my calls. Are you not Shiro?—

—Oh, that.— He smiled, fondly. —Takashi gave me a name. If I may introduce myself to you, Princess, I am Takeshi Kurogane, it was pleasure to work under your command and...I’m sorry I couldn’t help any more. I really wanted you to stay with Lance.— She giggled, and he couldn’t help but feel like he had nothing to fear, ambracing her finally. —Where are we?—

—In the core of the Universe, the place where every single reality connects and colides with each other, the place from where other worlds are formed and the very foundation of our Universe as we know it.— So, Kuro thought, it was that big shining ball in the middle of the tangled mess that were alternate realities. That he could get behind and understand. —We are here because, I gave Lance a small portion of my power, just enough so I could still be connected to him, and to all of you. And I saw everything, I’ve been trying to contact him, I tried with Keith, I tried with everyone and it seemed as if Shiro couldn’t hear the Altas’ voice anymore.— So, she was aware of the bullshit that were their lives after she was gone.

He could only sigh and place his hands on her shoulders, smiling with guilty and at the same time with empathy. He could understand, seeing and not being able to do anything, but with him it had been more of a...choice, he choose to not do anything about it. Allura couldn’t do anything about it.

—I’m sorry. But, how did you manage to get to me?— Allura smiled and then she moved her hand to the side, suddenly there was a figure, getting bigger and bigger until he could make the shape of the Black lion, and he ran towards it, smiling bigger and bigger until he was face to face with the giant space cat. —Black! But...I thought you went away, and you know I’m not Shiro.—

—She does know, but she still had a connection with you, not him, at the end. They, Voltron, went to search for me after noticing something wasn’t right and when they reached me, I knew exactly why. They have been trying to bring me back, to take me back to you all but I fear it may be too late for us to solve everything. I’m afraid this current timeline is doomed.— Kuro’s expression became serious, and then worried, why was it doomed? There was no saving? Why?

—I thought they saved the Universe.—

—So did I, and I was naive, I thought it would be solved if we just fixed the timelines, if we just patched them and never took in mind how traveling through them could have hurt ourselves, could have hurt you, the minds of everyone. There was no salvation at the end once we went beyond the wormhole.— She explained slowly. —We made so many mistakes and in a way, we may have mixed ourselves with other versions of each one of us. I saw the changes, I saw how timeline after timeline started to crumble because we brought something we shouldn’t have. And we can’t fix it from here.—

For what he could understand it seemed like when Honerva started to jump and make so many timelines collapse with them jumping around trying to reach her, some stuff got mixed within them at the time of the restoration because it was only two alteans fixing a whole Universe, they had been already there, and they...oh.

It made some sort of sense, if he thought about it, Shiro suddenly changed a lot, everyone just went with it but they never seemed to be completely fine with the turn of events, they never seem to be sure where they were, Keith himself put a lot of distance within them because he had to do other things and, if he really thought about it, maybe the reason all of that never affected him, Kuro, was because he was being shielded by Shiro. Hell, he could even make an assumption there and think that maybe Shiro, at the end, had been mixed with another version of himself that actually succeeded in taking over the entirety of Shiro and just never revealed it was him. That sounded fucked up. It was a stretch but it wasn’t totally impossible.

—So, how can I help you fix this?—

—I’m impressed by the fac that you’re not questioning anything I’m saying to you. Maybe because you have seen everything as well and how it just doesn’t make sense, even my actions sometimes, don’t make sense when I think about them, and I wonder if from the beginning, once Honerva started to mess with alternate timelines, we just lost. We had no way to fight.— Both Black and Kuro walked a bit to get close to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave Allura his most sincere smile. He was going to help. If she was there saying there, in this timeline, was not a fix, then she must have a way to affect other timeline, and he was going to agree with her, every single time. —I could reach you through the Black lion because of your love for, well, both Keith and Shiro.—

—And so you know that part o me, geez thanks Black, you could have hid it better if you were going to search for me and my feelings.— He joked about it, he didn’t want to touch that topic right now.

—It’s actually that reason that makes me believe we have a small chance to make this work. As you know, this is the core, all timelines begin and end here, so I can access any I desire and I can move to any I desire to see if I did a good job. There are quite a few timelines where everything is just beginning, there are a few that are the same as ours but with small changes, there is even one where Keith took your place, you know.— He raised and eyebrow. —Forget about that, but what I’m saying is that, Voltron exists in more than just one Universe. There are things that are just meant to happen and, as well, there are things that now have to happen. Before all of this I realized there was no timeline where Shiro is cloned.— Oh great, so he was the very first.

—And now I suppose there are a few where that event is happening. Which makes it even weird for me to be the one helping you because, if Shiro never gets a clone, does he die?— He was worried.

—Not quite. There is a timeline where they just started to make you, this one is the one that has the fewer changes and is one I can send you to. I won't send you alone, I’ll gift you with more than enough power to do what I need you to do, but there are rules to keep the flowing of time and space in place and you are already a big change.— She looked firmly at him, her eyes were burning with determination to do this but most of the work seemed to rest on his shoulders.

He looked at Black, placing his hand over the cold metal of one of her paws before closing his eyes.

He was just being made.

Which meant he had a chance to run away before they could control him.

He wasn’t even sure how many clones came before him that were broken or something, that didn’t listen, that couldn’t handle the fact that they were clones and not real. But he ahd already deal with it, so that wasn’t a problem if he found himself within a failed clone, if he could make it to Pidge, taking what Allura said about having very few differences, she could fix him real quick.

But the question here seemed to be whether he was ready to withould information and be ready to deal with the fact he couldn’t change anything he wanted just because he wanted to. —Tell me the rules.—

—I will send you to this place, to a moment where you can escape and run towards Voltron, I cannot assure you that you will be able to reach them, which is the first step. If you fail and get lost in space I can retrieve you and we would have to wait for another timeline, and there comes my first question.— Allura looked sad, but as she bit her lower lip, maybe to give herself strength, she breathed, slowly. —You may have to jump between realities more than once, you will get any memories you make always, they will stay inside your mind, you will not be able to die and I’d probably have to drag you out of the reality only if you really are about to die, so the feeling will stay with you for a long time until your mind gets into another body and you can assure yourself, with your own eyes, that you're not dead.— That was more terrifying than what he expected, stay near death but never allowed to die.

His mind couldn't just wrap itselt around that thought.

—Keep going, that’s....that’s not even a problem for me.— It was, but he wanted to help, to give all of them a second chance, and he knew he would only get to know if that would affect any of the other realities until he had heard everything. —I’m anyways as well as dead right now, so, I can live with it.—

—You're so like Shiro.— She whispered, but he shook his head, he wasn’t like Shiro at all. He just got used to be dead while alive. —I’ll grant you a fraction of my power as I said, we can stay connected. We _will be_ connected. You’ll be inside a galra-made body, but your soul and yourself will be Altean.— He immediately moved his hands towards his cheeks. —I do not know if you will get marks like Lance, but if suspicion rises up inside of my alternate me, you’ll just need to do as I tell you to prove _myself_ that you're not an enemy. Of course, this power can lead to many outcomes from many scenarios, and based on where you land and stay, you may even be told to use when I tell you to not do it. Will you trust me?—

His hand was playing with his small floof of hair, wondering if that was going to work if Keith or Shiro were to be in danger but, he got it, if he just let everyone know that he was suddenly an Altean, or Galra-Altean-made, probably there was going to be a lot to be expected from him, miracles, even asked answers about everything. —About my knowledge...—

—You’ll remember everything, of course. If not, you couldn’t do your job as I want you to. Your goal is simple, and yet I can’t tell you this right now or you may cause a chain reaction which can end in the same outcome yet again, you can have your own goals and I won’t tell you whether you’re doing good or bad. When the task is finished, I do not know what will happen to you, or what will happen to me, but I know everything will be alright and you’ll be able to disclose anything you wish to.— That didn’t answer his question. —I will force you to shut up if you say too much. That’s what I’m saying.—

—Oh. Okay. So I’m only allowed to give them small hints like a mystical wizard that came from another world. Which is actually fitting given my scenario right now.— He looked at Black yet again.

—To summarize, what you can know right now is that you will be going to another clone’s body, you have to contact Voltron and disclose this information. You are a clone, but you’ve been sent by another force in the Universe, you need for Allura and Coran to trust you and, I trust you can make Keith trust you. Your immediate goal after that is to get Shiro back, break into the clone factory and destroy it, of course, depending on your situation, you can take some time to test the bodies and transfer Shiro to one of those. The Black lion will help you as well. And when you complete your operation, everything will be rewriten _besides_ your new timeline.—

—I am going to stay in one of those forever, and I’ll never be able to see what happened here. That’s what you’re saying.— She nodded.

So it was a shot to the air and wishful thinking that everything will be corrected in this timeline once he did his own job on the other one. Said job was a entire mystery to him and his only source of information was to keep talking with Allura. He looked at her and noticed how she was anxious, nervous and almost guilty, he could understand that, and after so much talk about timelines and fixes, he just laughed.

—What it is?—

—Just wondering. If I hook up with a handsome male alien in the middle of my search for Voltron, will you feel it?— The slap was worth it, Allura was as red as her skin could let her. Tension had gone away and the mood was totally killed. —Legit question tho.— He said from the floor, looking at her.

Suddenly she seemed to notice something and smiled, before laughing a bit, still crossed her arms and looked away. —I will only keep a bond with you so that I know when you're talking about the mission or something you shouldn’t. I don’t give a quiznak about what you do with your body and with who.— She relaxed, that was good. —If you can make these awful jokes it means you’re ready to accept this mission.—

—It’s better than having to spend the whatever remaining days I have just looking at Shiro and wondering what I could have done. So yeah. Hit me when you're ready, Princess.— It was a half truth, he did wanted to help and not having to float within Shiro's mind half aware of whatever his real self was doing, he had given up on trying to fix anything but even if this option sounded way more complicated and horrible, almost like a torture, he felt like he deserved it for everything he had done before he reached forgiveness from Shiro in some fashion. Allura herself didn’t look sure about his answer but he knew better than to pour out his heart to the princess that already was suffering enough.

Everything was just enough.

—We will start, then. Kuro. I want you to know that I’m grateful for this, and I know I’ll say horrible things to you but...— He raised a hand up between them, smiling.

—No need. I will be able to deal with whatever the Universe throws at me. There’s a space kitty that needs me, and a stupid idiot who needs to learn when to accept help.— He closed his eyes, and then just sit there in front of the Princess, legs crossed and his arms lazily put over them. —Let’s go.—

Allura didn’t try to make any more conversation. If they weren’t trying to fix the Universe, again, probably he would love to have some sort of catch up, to talk with her and ask her about Keith and how was he, to ask her if he could look around just like her and kinda become part of the Universe. That was something he could always dream about while trying to reach Voltron in whatever world he was going to end up.

Her hands caressed his cheeks and he could felt something strange within him, but when he opened his eyes Allura was just smiling at him, softly and sweet. —You’re just like Shiro. You have power within you that you don’t even know about. You have so much to give and yet you never realized this yourself. Never stop, whatever you started up as doesn’t matter. Make this opportunity take the shape you want, let the Universe know that you are also someone who is alive. Someone who can be great. Let yourself be loved.—

He felt sleepy, but still chuckled when Allura told him those words. He was alive. He was someone who deserved love. He was someone who was allowed to love and do great things.

He was going to save the entire Universe.

* * *

It had been easier to say than do. He was currently laying on the floor, still feeling as if blood was dripping from his mouth but there was nothing but white. Allura was again at his side, trying to comfort him and reassuring him.

He was alive.

There was no galra army there.

His body hadn’t been stabbed to death.

He let out a groan. It was their **fifth** try and he had died _again_.

The first time he had travelled to another timeline he had woke up in a brand new body, both arms still attached to his body and no galra tech near him. He was inside a pod but it was draining as he started to move around, he had figured it was the mystical power Allura had given him to create this chances so he could do his mission. That time had gone way too good until he took a ship to get away from the mother ship. Once he was outside the alarm had gone off, lots of fighter ships went after him and he couldn’t operate the ship properly in order to avoid most of them.

Allura had retrieved him once he saw the gigantic mother ship shot towards him.

It took him a while to breath again but he was able to deal with that one.

Then the second one came and it was his first time trying to pierce together his mind after the fact that he had been _ripped_ in fucking half. It had started all the same, but this time he had been catched upon turning to the hangar and it hadn’t been pleasant to fight, without weapons, with a gigantic galra soldier that wanted nothing but his blood, after all, he was just one of many.

Sometimes he still felt how his arms were taken away from him.

Third one had been easy, he could escape. He just died because of lack of oxygen after being unable to find a planet or base or anything to land on and get clues. Allura had heard him cry for a while because his self-esteem was pretty damaged after that.

Fourth one was traumatic. He reached Voltron in the middle of a fight. Allura never wanted to touch the topic again but he was pretty sure he had been able to scream Keith’s name before the Black lion fired at him.

He agreed tho. Never touching that one again.

This one let him land on a planet, he could reconogize that one, later they would make the Lotor-Sam interchange and Zarkon would die there. He was working with the comm system inside his stolen ship, attracted some galra soldiers and, well, he was sure that his body, as a clone, was pretty resistant since he stayed alive through at least seven whatever pointy weapons those soldiers carried that went through him. The fact that Allura called him back only after he was falling down accepting his death helped him to claim that.

—...I’m sorry?— She said, suddenly. Kuro figured he had said something outloud without thinking and laughed. —You said that you're a tough bitch.—

—Oh. I am.— After placing a hand over his mouth and checking for the nth time he let his shoulders and all of his body relax a bit, rolling in the floor before looking upwards, towards the nothingness. —I couldhave taken all of them. What made me actually die?—

—You were like a fountain of blood. I think I recall Lance once telling me about this fabled warrior of yours in the earth, one who had both arms cut and said “ _tis’ nothing but a superficial wound_ ” or similar.— Kuro laughed, it wasn’t like that but, oh god, now he wanted to go back and use that stupid phrase. —What?—

—It’s “ _tis nothing but a scratch_ ” princess, also it’s not really a fabled warrior or anything. But if you keep your memories after I fix the whole Universe, ask Lance about that.— He wasn’t going to be the one telling her about memes in the middle of the origin of space and time. That relaxed him and made hm realize he was not going to suddenly have holes all over his body. —Alright, I’m fine again. So, this is the way the Universe has to stop _us_ from actually messing even more with it?— The princess by his side had nodded, and then took a seat more properly by his side.

—I found another timeline already, it seems our movements are making these pop out more easily and faster than before.— But she placed a hand over Kuro’s shoulder. —It’s still a bit away from a place we can use, but, are you sure you want to keep going?— She asked as if he could change his mind just because a few wounds.

He smiled to himself, placing a hand over his chest and making sure he was alive, tht he was breathing. Then looked again towards the nothingness. He had been going around and around, suffering a lot in the meantime. It wasn't like he didn't tried to avoid death just because he knew he could start again anytime, he really avoided it because it hurt like hell. He probably had a thousand new fears right now but tried his damn best to not think about them.

—I have this memory, you know.— He started. —When Shiro came one day to enroll to the Garrison, he was praised, everyone wanted him there, but he had to do a medical test first and something came out. He was ill. He was ill and it was something that will make him unable to move, to do even simple things, eventually he wasn't even going to breathe on his own. All of him was going to stop. Just like that.— He looked to one of his arms. —He was forced to use this thing, that kept his muscles active, he was being forced to do less sometimes, he was being forced to look down from his dream because he wasn’t going to live enough to accomplish those. And yet he stood there, he kept going and said ‘To hell with you and back’.— Smiling, he stood up and breathed deeply. —So I say, I can be broken in a thousand ways. But I’ll never know true suffering because I’m given an option no one is given. I can start again. I can fix my mistakes. To hell with the Universe and beyond, if I’m going to die consumed by flames or have to beg for pity before my head rolls away I don't care. I will go through hell, I want the happy ending I thought I was choosing when I never woke up again. I refuse to accept my fate. I’m going to walk into the deeps of pain if I need to.— He smiled, brightly with his eyes closed, filled with something he never knew he was able to hold inside. —Allura, just send me away again. This is nothing. I have left even more versions of Keith and Shiro suffering out there, so this is nothing.—

The princess smiled softly at him, before signaling him to sit down again. —Then we shall wait for a bit. Once it’s time, I’ll send you away. And this time, Kuro, I count with you more than ever.—

—Don’t you remember? I’m a paladin.— He smiled back before sitting down, then he could feel something change inside of him and outside, looking at himself.

He laughed when he noticed Allura had put on him the Paladin armor once again.


	3. It's good to be back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuro had thought he was ready for anything that could come for him in this new timeline, or really in any timeline he ended in. He was sure nothing was going to be worse than ending inside the body of a man that gave up happiness because he was tired.
> 
> Kuro usually is terribly wrong and this time is not different when he finds out just what little changes can a timeline have that could fry his brain along with new surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is painfully short. I was sick, then I had to go to classes and then I had to deal with more stuff and I, frankly, didn't wanted to post it this way but I didn't wanted to go a week without a chapter. So here it is.
> 
> At least now I can start going over the parts I really want to write, take this as a kinda final introduction into the world I'm making and then we can get over the good stuff. It doesn't help I already want to write twelve new fanfics because I have ideas. I'm terribly sorry.
> 
> I promise next one will be longer and better.

This time when he opens his eyes he is not inside a pod, he can see clearly since the very beginning. His back resting against a cold surface but he can see both his arms still attached to the body. He is still in the clear to make a run for it and reach Team Voltron before is too late.

The body is heavy, he can feel the drugs flowing through his body, even so he tried to get up and noticed he was being confined to the table, probably minutes away from starting the operation and the change of his arm, and he couldn’t have that. Closing his eyes he tried to recreate what he was already familiar with and soon what was binding him to the table loosened then dropped to the sides. It had been cut and he was free, he stood up as soon as he was able and tried to not fall despite the fact his mind was going down in circles, almost like a ship about to crash.

He had to go.

He had to run.

Steps could be heard, getting closer, and closer and yet he couldn’t move without feeling like the floor was being moved away from him. Cursing the drugs the galra had given him he just moved as fast as he could, praying that this wouldn’t be another chance he wasted.

By some major mystical force or just sheer luck, he was able to hide behind a wall before anyone could come inside. It was a low tier soldier that soon panicked, he could hear him talk to himself about how he was lost and now it was going to be impposible to find where he was suppossed to go, apparently, missing the fact that there should be a clone or anything in the operations table. Behind him was the only way to exit that place and even if he was a low tier soldier he could use him to have access to a ship.

If he could use his knowledge as a clone, evil clone exactly, he may be able to trick this dumb space furry to get him to the hangar, and for the sound of his complains if seemed there was not a heavy guard around.

“ _Okay, Kuro. Focus yourself. Channel that inner bullshit inside of you. You can do it._ ” He was giving a prep talk to himself and that was pathethic to say the least, but, he needed to. Maybe he could turn on the purple on his eyes? Maybe?

Whatever, if he didn’t acted right now it was gonna be a loss.

—Don’t move.— He said as he moved, slowly, outside the wall and appeared into the vision of the guard. It served some dramatic effect of course but he had to move like that in order to not fall because of the drugs.

—Who-...You’re the champion!— Oh, so he didn’t knew Haggar was making clones of Shiro, that could help as long as he didn’t fucked it up. —You don’t move, I’m going to bring you to Haggar and then, and...then...— this idiot was slow, —why are you already in prisioner clothes?—

—You’re pretty stupid aren’t you?—If his eyes were light up purple he could have looked so cool, but he couldn’t look around for a mirror. —You shouldn't have come here, my master will get really angry if she knew you, low scum, have acces to such important places.— He could see the guard lower the weapon he had drawn to point at him, apparently he was still able to scare others, good. —Seems like you have figured out truly who I am.—

—I-It can’t be, Haggar...the Emperor will hear about this!— Oh shit.

—What makes you think I’m here behind Lord Zarkon’s back?— The guard flinched. —Do you think I’d call Lotor an emperor? Seems you don’t know anything at all.— The guard soon was looking around as if searching for a druid. —I need to accomplish something quickly. If you desire to keep your head and make yourself useful to Lord Zarkon’s army, take me to the hangar. Remember. My master is always watching.— Kuro cursed a bit inside himself, hoping he wasn’t being too harsh or too fast for this fool to catch that he just wanted to go away.

The guard seemed hestitant, that wouldn’t work. His face turned a bit sour as he heard someone else coming, for the sounds he could recognize it was just the patrol, so nothing to be scared of, but maybe he could manipulate this scenario a bit more.

—Don’t you understand? I’m here only to bring glory to the empire and to be a sacrifice for the empire. I need a ship. Lord Zarkon needs to be delivered some raw material to be healed. Are you a traitor? Are you trying to go against the empire?— He walked forward, making it so the guard had only the exit to run away, but as he seemed unable to notice it was only the patrol he was panicking, and while shaking his head he just threw himself to the floor. Good, he was pleading for his life, and that was all he needed right now. —Take me to a ship, don’t let anyone see me with you. Your loyalty will be rewarded vastly by the emperor.—

—Y-Yes, I understand, I’ll teka you to the hangar. I dislike having Lotor as our Emperor, he is not worthy, he is just a half...— The face he put must have been enough for this bastard to get scared again.—I u-understand! I will not talk I’ll just follow my orders!— He remained silent while they waited for the patrol to go away.

Soon, he was being guided towards a ship and that was something he never knew he would appreciate, for once there was no shooting, no screaming, no running away for his life. From what he could gather about his surroundings, this was a galra battle cruiser and they were taking supplies towards the main ship of Zarkon’s. So far everything had been pretty similar to his timeline so there were not big surprises and the guard was pretty competent when it came to guide him to a ship. —This one will suffice. It was a not registered arrive so you can go out again without anyone noticing.— He saluted him. — _Vrepit Sa!_ —

Hah, ironic. Being an evil clone could come in handy for him now of all times. — _Vrepit sa_.— He said no more and didn’t even asked for his name or his number as a soldier. He didn’t really cared. It wasn’t as if he could repay him with something useful in any case, he just got inside the ship and started to get ready for departure. Looking ahead before taking flight.

There weren’t explosions. He wasn’t running away and he had to remind himself of that fact way more than he liked. He was happy and kinda glad about that, for once everything seemed to go well and soon the battle cruiser was nowhere to be seen. He then relaxed and closed any comm channels that could be used to track him right now, looked at his hands and took a moment to examine his body, there were two hands human like, his hair was all black and he didn’t feel the texture of his signature scar across the face, that was something he couldn’t believe, even if he had been five times already in a body like this.

He couldn't communicate with Allura right now, that much he could tell because his mind was in a blanck state without anyone listening to him, so he was left to his own devices for a while, and while he was looking around towards the stars he wondered how long will take him to reach Voltron.

For now, he would just reast and not panic.

He was safe for a while.

* * *

It was a thing to find a planet from where he could take another ship and then jump from there towards finding Voltron.

It was one thing if he knew the planet.

It was a terrible idea and just his fucked up luck to find himself flying around Olkarion, and he knew it was the best place to call for help, Ryner probably would believe him but at the same time would try to study him to see if there wasn’t any kind of whatever stupid viruses the galra could infect him with. He looked at the infinite sky and wondered if this was a good idea or if he could just fly around from memory until he found somewhere else.

But soon he found himself maneuvering towards the forest near the Olkari city.

He didn't expect a warm welcome and of course, he didn’t get one. As soon as he landed on the forest there were Olkari soldiers around him, asking him why he was alone and what was his business around there.

He sighed, now there was a great time to wonder how he was going to present himself and didn’t have any business cards with him to present himself.

Okay, he was going with his worst idea. —I don’t mean any harm! I escaped from a galra cruise and I’m searching for Voltron!— He opened the cockpit and raised himself up with his hands raised, he could hear the many gasps the olkari let out as soon as they saw him and this was his moment to shine. Hopefully one day he could tell all of this, if he made it out of there alive, and explain why he couldn’t just tell the truth. —I, I do not know who I am, I just know I have to find Voltron and tell them something. This is very important. Can you help me? I have no weapons with me, you can search.— For one, he could tell this was an improvement from his memory of when Shiro crashed on earth, no one suddenly forcing him to the ground and taking him like a prisioner.

—Call Ryner! We need someone to come here and confirm his identity!— One olkari cried out.

—I-It looks just like the black paladin, but it can’t be. There are many things different!— Another one seemed to be worried and getting closer, with a blaster on her hands.

—We need to confirm the information before anything! Call Ryner and don’t drop your guard! Don’t do anything unless I say so!— That was the leader of these small forces, he was sure, and for that he was glad because he could just stay there, sitting outside the ship and looking around, wondering where the small differences would be in this timeline, wondering if he would live enough to see more of this one.

It helped his case, he looking curious made the olkari slowly feel curious about him as well and, being the race that got along with Pidge the most, curiousity seemed to be their main function. Soon there were at least two olkari close enough to talk with him without shouting. —Why you keep staring at us?—

—Why wouldn’t I? You’re pointing at me with your weapons even after I said I’m not armed. Also I’m curious if I can even move around to walk or something. My legs hurt.— That seemed to give a good impression. —You said, well your leaders I think, said I look like the Black Paladin, right? Why is that?— Maybe he could press some information out of them.

One of the two olkari seemed reclutant to speak, the other looked around a bit worried but told him anyway —The Black paladin, I hear he has some white fur on his head and one of his arms is no loger human. You’re different but have the same figure and face.—

—I’m no black paladin. That concerns me though, because the information I have well, I don't know. I don’t even knoe if you will trust me. I can see you’re afraid of me.— Before he could get a reply, Ryner appeared and she must have noticed how he recognized her and yet she said nothing.

They just stared at each other until she ordered for the weapons to be lowered and then came closer to him, waiting for him to tocuh the ground and so he did. Once standing up in front of her he didn’t knew what to say but could feel Allura’s voice flowing through him, so it was gonna be like that. —I’m afraid I may not know how to explain myself, but I can assure you that once you feel what I am, your answers will come easy enough for you to believe in me.—

—The olkari always welcome their friends with open arms. Friends from this and whatever other worlds and universes there may be out there.— He didn’t flinch or rather, the ability to do so was suddenly taken away from him. —How may I call you?—

—Kuro.—

* * *

—Do you dislike your olkari attire, Kuro?— Ryner sounded like she was having fun, which made him smile before shaking his head. —You have been looking at yourself for quite a time now.—

—I haven’t see myself since I opened my eyes. It’s just so much to take in and there are too many memories inside of me that are trying to make sense of what I’m seeing.— He turned around, smiling back at her. —I’m more impressed by the fact that you trust me so easily. I was ready to say so much more.—

—Do you remember that time when the small one connected herself to the trees so she could use one of our robots?— She asked, looking away, towards the giant window. —As soon as I saw you, the planet itself told me everything was fine, because I can feel your energy. You have nothing that tells me you're trying to harm anyone. Your body may have been made with ill intent but you're someone who already suffered enough. Clearly you don't think that, because you’re here, trying to contact Voltron.— If he had hoped for this to be a smooth conversation, that thought went through the window right now, she sounded like she had some questions.

—I figure you haven't told them I’m here.—

—I have...—

—You have questions for me before I do anything.— He smiled at her. —What can I do?— Ryner just smiled softly at him, before leading him towards the room and then to the control room, because she had some questions about specifics that have been happening lately and one big anomaly they picked up recently.

He soon learned Ryner was able to catch every time he had made a jump towards another timeline and she was already investigating that fact, but wanted for it to remain a secret.

He helped, a bit.

* * *

They had contacted Voltron just a few ticks after he went to sleep for the night, with the promise that they would everything they could to assure him a good sleep before meeting with them. It had been already three weeks while he was doing some work for Ryner and letting his Allura know about that, connecting them and serving a purpose as a bridge so they could help each other.

He was quite lost as to what he had to do now, his first order was about to be fulfilled and the next ones probably weren’t going to be easy. He still managed to sleep but as soon as he opened his eyes there was noise, lot of noise coming from all around him.

He stood up from the bed and walked towards the door, there he was. A slender figure dressed in red armor, something seemed to catch his attention as soon as he saw him because he could see his face turn around so fast he was worried about his neck. Suddenly there was silence and there was no one else around.

He didn't knew what to say. His last memories had been of him hurting Keith in ways he couldn't even dare to, but right now he was there, and from the very beginning he was his own self, not Shiro’s clone, not Shiro. He was Kuro.

—...This is wrong.— He said, almost choking, teeth clenched as he tried to contain his anger, appanretly. —Why, why is there something like...—

—I know where is Shiro.— He whispered, Keith flinched and looked like he wanted to cry. —I know you may not trust me, even with Ryner giving the good word for me. I know this form of me doesn’t give you the best memories. I know a lot. But most of all I want you to know that I won’t ever hurt you, I’m here to save Shiro. To help you, and I need your help.— He didn't move. He just stood there and when Keith turned away he felt as his efforts were going to waste.

Then...

Before he could beg him to trust him...

Keith was already hugging him, fist clenched over his clothes and tugging them, he was literally clinging to him and a small sob came out of his mouth.

—You’re so much like him. It hurts.— Kuro didn't knew what to do or if he should do anything but slowly hugged Keith back. —I missed my alpha so much.—

…

What?

Suddenly, in the back of his mind, he could hear a faint voice saying that there was going to be way more than what he signed for in the first place, as his body started to react due to that calling and soon he was kissing Keith.

That surely will need a whole lot of explaining.


	4. Come with me, we'll stand and fight together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before he could understand what was wrong with Keith or different, to be exact, he had to gain the trust of the paladins and it wasn't a surprise that Pidge had his back, she would trust Ryner over anyone else sometimes and even then there was still room to doubt. He needed them to believe in him, to tell them all about him. He needed them to know about him and his origin, and then he could start for real his mission to get the ending Shiro and Keith were robbed of, but of course, sometimes his own feelings get in the way.
> 
> He just wish this is nothing that will hurt his relationship with Keith forever. And realizes just how unstable his own emotions are when it comes to Keith. Maybe Honerva made him rotten to the core and there was no way back from that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should go live tomorrow but what the hell, let's upload this today and even if it's not as long as I wanted it to be, it's better than the last piece of shit I put here. We finally start getting into the fun part which is writting about KuronKeithShiro, well at least the first two because I still have to rescue the third one and that time will come when it's needed, they can't just go inside the clone factory and steal a body for Shiro who is in the black lion, a fact that is still a secret for everyone besides Kuro our time traveler.
> 
> By the way, have you ever watched Steins;Gate? Because somehow I got inspired by it and never noticed until I tried to write Pidge and realized I just use that explanation about time travel all the time, man, I really suck about that, but I guess this is the steins;gate no official AU no one wanted, hopefully I won't traumatize Kuro as much as Okarin.
> 
> You know the drill, the title comes again from that song I love and this time we have some Keith-Kuron action, not much, but some.
> 
> Enjoy the ride!

As much as he wanted to take a moment to get some things explained, he wasn’t given that luxury, suddenly he was in a whirlwind of doubts and he knew that would come and yet it hurt all the same. For the time being the paladins were there in Olkarion while he could get them some explanations and while he thought that would be easy it was actually difficult.

First of all, he had to deal with Keith who was constantly wary of him but then would run to him like a puppy and cling to him until he couldn’t understand anything anymore. He didn’t talked with him while that happened. He just stayed there.

Allura kept refusing his proposition about letting her know he was not a danger. Pidge was somewhat on his side thanks to Ryner but Hunk and Lance stayed on the other side of the whole thing and that sucked. Because that reduced the amount of people he could talk to only two: Ryner and Pidge.

Both of them tried to assure him that Voltron with help him eventually but every time they had a meeting and he tried to get a word, Allura or Keith would get uncomfortable with him and then things would repeat without end.

He was just going out from such a meeting, trying to go back to his room when Pidge ran to him and took his hand. —What’s the matter?—

—I know those two don’t believe you. I sure don’t want to believe you but Ryner would never put us in danger.— He smiled towards the young girl and turned his whole body to face her. —If I can be honest, they are just staying there because Allura believes you convinced Ryner that you’re good enough to prepare a trap. She is willing to stay here to protect Olkarion from you. So I want to prove to her that there’s nothing to worry about...right?— Having Pidge’s trust or at least more trust than her doubts was better than having nothing.

He nodded and she took them towards a part of the tower where she could examine him better. They knew he was a clone, at leas that much was to be believed, so his body surely would be made with something similar to machines, or so Pidge told him while they were walking. Once in the machine room, he just sat down in the middle of the room and waited for whatever Pidge would do.

He could see the green paladin take a lot of stuff he could not recognize and then start forming what seemed to be a terminal around him, but she seemed worried as to where she could start to see where to connect anything. —Is weird seeing a copy of Shiro that doesn’t have the galra arm.—

—...Is for a good reason.— He replied, noticing the curiousity in the girl’s eyes. —If they would like to listen to me, you would know why. I can’t be giving this information just whenever I like, think like...I kinda need to relay information only when the people who need to hear it can hear it.— She seemed to understand and yet she was even more excited to find more about him, which made him chuckle. —You can cut one of my arms and put me another one if that’s what you need.—

—Oh my god, _no_! Keith would kill me.—

—Keith doesn’t...I don’t know. He acts strange around me. Sometimes he acts like he really wants to believe me but other times he is just distant and looks...hurt.—Pidge looked as confused as him when he said that, so he wasn’t going to get information from her any time soon. —Why would he kill you anyway?—

—Dunno, since we knew about you he started to act really weird about you. He doesn’t like you being alone with any of us more than the minimum time, or being too far away from you either but doesn’t want to believe in you...rather, I think he doesn't want you to believed because that would mean that maybe Shiro is...— She didn’t continue, just took his right arm and started to touch around, looking for a place where she could feel something odd. —I’m amazed at how they were able to replicate the human body with almost no imperfections and also, heal Shiro. If there’s something I can be grateful for, to the galra, is that they healed Shiro, kinda. You.— She looked at him and Kuro didn’t knew what to reply.

He moved a bit and then tried to move his fingers, then his hand...it felt like a human hand, for him it was what a human hand would feel like. He didn't knew better. He never knew better. All his life had been inside of a body like this. Then he remembered something and looked a Pidge. —Can you take me to your lion, Pidge? If you can’t scan me with the machines...—

—You want me to use...oh. Oh! I can use Green to scan you, you’re right!— She jumped up and then waited for him before running towards the hangar.

So far, he didn't really saw any changes on her, which made everything easier. He knew her. He knew how brilliant that little girl was and how even better she was going to be sooner or later. All depending on how he managed his mission now. Yet there was a small hunch of sadness inside of him because he would never forgive himself for forcing her to make an antivirus against him. Against Shiro.

He must have looked quite sad about that because once they were in front of the green lion, Pidge looked at him a bit worried.

—Sorry. It’s nothing. Just memories.— He said, before looking at the lion. —I’m ready when you are, Pidge. Hit me with that scanner.—

—Don't worry about those memories. I don’t know what you just remembered, but even if you're not Shiro or, maybe because you’re not Shiro...it’s not your fault, you know? Whatever that’s happening inside that mind of yours.— She smiled. —I won’t hit you or I’d probably kill you but sure.— She went ahead to board her lion and Kuro was left behind laughing about that. —I’m glad you appreciate my humour. Now stay put.—

He could see the faint green light surrounding him, and Pidge was talking at a speed where he couldn't catch all of what she was saying, but sudenly she stayed silent and he knew what she just found. Or at least he had a small clue.

The next thing he knew was that Pidge was screaming.

—ALLURA! You have to see this-...! No _Kuro_ did nothing wrong! Allur...! Princess for the love of all that’s holy in your planet! He’s half altean!— _Oh boy_ , Kuro thought, _there we go_. —I’m not kidding, why in the quiznak would I be kidding?! Come to the hangar and to the green lion!—

Of course she didn’t went alone, Coran was with her and soon all of the paladins were there as well. For a moment he thought Allura was going to toss him across the hangar and break him in half o worse but, she just went straight to the lion.

After a few minutes, she came down and looked at him.

—Who are you?— She asked, not mad, nor sad. —You can’t be a half-altean clone of Shiro.— She was worried, scared, but all the same she was hopeful and that was maybe the biggest opportunity he could have.

—I need to talk with all of you. I know you may not want to believe me, but I’m here for a reason and I came here because I fucked up big time once. I don’t want that to happen again, I don't want to lose all of my friends again, I don't want to see...a certain person be sad never again.— He offered his hands towards the princess. —Take my hands and please try to think about your planet. Try to think about your home. About what you desire to reach.— He smiled and approached her. —I was named, by a big giant dork...Takeshi Kurogane.—

The princess seemed to think about that, but after seeing the data come from one of the lions her father had made something softened her around him and she touched his hands, much to Lance’s dismay and continued whining about not being safe to do so.

And so, everything went blank for a second, at least a second for the paladins, it was more, much more than just that for he and the princess. In that second, he could not see how Keith looked away and then walked to the exit of the room, not wanting to stay there any longer.

* * *

—I understand now, but that still doesn’t answer most of my questions if I’m honest, Kuro.— The princess was shaking still, Coran at her side trying to keep her calm and already serving her some tea that Hunk had prepared.

They were inside the castle of lions, on that big dinner room but now Kuro could see how Keith evaded him even more. He would tackle that issue in a moment of course but...

—I want you to know that I wish I could tell you, all of you, everything but as you saw there’s something that forces me to keep my mouth shut about a lot of things that could help us even more.— He moved a hand and wondered how he could explaing his point. —There are certain things that need to happen, no matter what I do or what I don't do, those will happen and there will be no change about that even if an entire army tried to change the future.—

—Okay, okay, let me get this straight. You're telling us that you, somehow, come from the future and you know what will happen but you can’t tell all about that to us.— Lance said, moving his hands all around while trying to understand what he just said. —Like, I don't understand. The first rule about a time traveler is that they TELL you everything about the future so that doesn't happen! It just doesn’t work! Man! Hunk say something, this clone makes no quiznak sense— Kuro wanted to intervene but someone did it before him.

—He holds some truth to it. If you are to believe the laws about space and time, there is no way an actual time traveler can travel back to his own timeline. I know you’re a big fan of those movies but please hold on a second.— Pidge started. —The main reason this couldn't happen is because time doesn't move in a straight line. There’s a theory about it where you should imagine the flow of time as a cord. With many little threads. So if you travel back in time you would end in a different thread that ends somehow in the same future but it can change and become a different thread altogether.— She looked around and only Allura and Kuro seemed to find that somehow understandable. —I give up.—

—What Pidge’s saying is correct.— Coran chimed in. —If may never been proved within your lifetime but it was almost proven on our planet. Within the many research King Alfor did and the many hours another great alchemist from Altea put into it, it was certain that there was a...how to say, a fabric that made the space and we were separated from other universes only by this small fabric. Voltron can travel between timelines and this has been proven before. So the fact that he can be from the future and as well from another timeline can be possible but...why would he come into the body of a clone?— With those last words he was way too close to Kuro’s face than he liked it.

He slowly pushed him away. —Because I don’t travel with my body. Only my mind in sent back towards a, well, a body or a being that is the most similar to me. Which means that indeed, you’ll have to believe in me when I say that I’m a clone. A complete clone. My mind is not from Shiro, I’m not Shiro. Shiro is the idiot that put me that stupid name.— The look on everyone’s faces was something curious to see, there was surprise, relief, sadness, shock. No one seemed to understand completely what just happened and what was he but he was reassuring them. —Now. If you do believe me. Can we go to sleep? I can’t give you more information than that right now, not because I’m being forced to. But you seem tired.—

—...Kuro is right.— Princess Allura said. —I think I need a moment to think about this but, for what I saw, I believe we can trust him. And I believe he is being sincere with us about more than what he tries to say.— Silence. —Keith, what do you think?—

Keith had been silent all this time, with his arms crossed in front of his chest and looked more defensive than ever. —Can...Can we talk about this?— He asked, and it was strange of him to even doubt his own words or ask about anything like that. —I think we all should go think about this. But I need to talk with him before going.—

—Of course.— With that, everyone stood up and slowly started to leave them alone, except for Allura who stopped near Keith. —Take your time, and I assure you. He is worth of your trust in everything. But I’ll let you decide that for yourself.—

The room was filled with silence suddenly. There were no more whispers, no more Lance trying to create conspiracy theories about him, no more Hunk wondering if he knew about food from the future. Nothing.

Just Keith and him.

—So, you’re from another....universe I guess?— He asked first, without looking at him. —I really don't understand most of it but I think I can get the idea. You’re a clone. You were made in another universe and then something went wrong there and you came here to try to fix that. You're here to save this Universe.— Keith sounded more like he was trying to think about that outloud to better understand it rather than just think about it in silence. —You’re not Shiro.—

—I’m here to save you.— Standing up, Kuro looked at him and the walked towards Keith without thinking. Once he was near the seat besides him, he sat down and looked a bit better at his face. —It may be way too much to ask of you to believe in me while I have this face and this body. But this is my face, this is my body, kinda. I’m not Shiro and I’m glad the difference can be seen right now. I know you're hurt. You have been searching for him and...—

—You don't know anything about me. I’m not the Keith you know. I may look like him, I may sound like him but I’m not that Keith. I’m not the Keith that needs to be rescued, you can start by taking that in mind and throwing it away because fuck that.— Violet eyes looked at him with mixed anger and sadness, as it seemed he was doing something terribly wrong. —I was there waiting for you to...but...why would you say that and act like you know me when you clearly know shit about me? You can’t even tell when I’m asking for you.—

—I...I don't understand. Keith I know-...I knew there would be changes but you just kept evading me and then coming to me only to then go away...— Keith punched him.

He was punched so hard in the face he fell to the ground and almost saw stars dancing around his face, closing his eyes and then opening them again before feeling like the whole world started to spin around. —What the fuck, Keith...—

—I just wanted you to be with me! You have no idea what you're doing to me and you can't have any idea because you're not even from this stupid universe or whatever shit you’re saying! I don't want to go through this again! It’s already hard enough not having one fo you near. Now I have you and I can’t.— He could see Keith standing in front of him, red cheeks and bright eyes, but soon he could see tears froming in the corners of said eyes.

He didn't understood anything. He wanted to know.

He never wanted to make him feel bad. He never wished for his presence to hurt him like this. He couldn't even move right now to calm him because he didn't knew what to do. —Then tell me.— He said. —I would do anything for you. I would help you in anything you wish. Hell. I am doing this because I want to see you being happy...do you know why I am doing this? Do you know how tiring is to do what I am doing? You don't know what pushed me to even try to fix everything and having the threat of dying over me more than one time.— He rose up, trying to stand up straight before locking his sight into Keith’s —Do you know how much I wished I could be with you? How much I despised the fact that I couldn't be with you because I hurt you? I hurt you. I made you almost die. I pushed you away and then cried for you to come back. I just wanted to be with you.—

—...Why would you do that for me?—

—Because I love you.— There was no point in hiding this, he wasn’t going to be loved back, he knew he wasn’t Shiro and wasn’t going to get that love. He was there because he wanted to have them, but as much as he wanted that...he wished for them to be happy, together. —I would never try to take you away from Shiro. I’m here to take you with Shiro, to help you be with him. To reunite you two and fix whatever in the hell that went wrong.— He walked slowly towards Keith and once he was close to him, for the first time, he could notice something different about him.

Keith, in this point of time, was still smaller than him, even for this body he was a bit smaller. He was slender, he was terribly cute in both body and face. But that alone wouldn't make him breath deeper, desire to touch him or...wanting to bite him. Right?

—If you stay this close to me you...you will feel sick.— Keith said, trying to get some distance between them. —If you really don't know, you shoulnd’t try to make me feel better. It won't work. You can’t control it.— He was starting to get sick and mad about that, it was so vague and never answering what he wanted to know.

What was that change? What was that thing that made Keith be wary of him and at the same time be mad that he wouldn’t give him attention. And somehow it didn't surprise him to know that his face probably showed that frustration. —Look. We’re going to do this together. So you need to tell me what the fuck is happening and what is this change. I will help. I just told you I love-...—

—I...heard you the first time. Don't say it again.— His cheeks were red, so red that he looked almost way more cute than he should. —It was cute.—

Okay that was unexpected.

—Then what’s the problem?—

—You’ll be grossed out, I don’t want to tell you. I was grossed out when I found it, I don't want you to get even more away from me-...— Kuro had enough. He took Keith from the arms and made so that he would look directly at his face. —Kuro! Wait!—

—I won't fucking wait. You tell me what the fuck is going on or I will kiss you until you can’t think of anything else. I won't go away, I won't get away, I am not going to left you, I will never left you. If you need something, tell me. Just tell me and I’ll move the universe for you!— He said it. Even if he just wanted to be romantic and make his point stand, he couldn't help but yell at him and he knew that wasn’t the correct behaviour he should have.

This was the reason Keith went away in the first place.

So he let go of Keith, a bit scared, a bit worried. —I...I am sorry, I didn't mean to yell-...no. I just. I’m just a piece of shit like that.— Walking away he took the chair that was on the floor and took a seat, burying his face on his palms so he couldn’t do anything else. —You don’t deserve to be treated like that. I thought I was different but I am not. I’m not more than an evil clone that is trying to do something I shouldn't be doing.—

He didn't hear anything, he was sure Keith was going to walk away now and leave him. He did it before. And he was right, he was horrible, Shiro was perfect and had infinite patience, infinite love, and somehow that trasnlated into him as having no shits to give and basically yelling at everyone but specially at Keith.

Maybe because it was his directive. Getting rid of _him_.

—I’m not going anywhere.— Steps came closer to him and suddenly he was being touche with softness, his face raised with ease and Keith was looking at him a bit worried, scared almost but never letting go. —You're still part of Shiro or someone like him. You're still someone like Shiro. And you said you wanted to save him. That makes you okay in my book but...I know I shouldn’t be asking you too much, I can't help it. I can’t do anything but wish to be near you or Shiro and I’m scared that, because of how I am, of who I am, you will be gone.— Kuro raised his hands and took Keith's into his, smiling at him and trying to not yell, to not be forceful, to not...be just...a piece of shit.

—You're half galra. What happens with that in this timeline? You called me ‘Alpha’ the first time we met.— He said, caressing his fingers and trying to not think how his whole behaviour was like one of an abuser. He didn’t needed that in his mind right now. —I’m scared of hurting you. I don't want to push you away. If I ever yell again at you...—

—I will punch you in the face if you ever try to do that again.— Kuro couldn't help but laugh. —Does that make it better?—

—It shouldn’t, but it does. I know you're strongth enough to send me flying across the Universe.— He finally looked at him again, to his eyes, those eyes that were like the whole universe condensed into the most precious gems. Keith was everything he could dream of having. —How about, I try to not yell, and you just sent me away if I do anything bad?—

—Like a dog? I can do that. I promise. You’re very different from Shiro. But I like that.— Keith seemed to have fun. —You yelling took me by surprise but, I wouldn't let anyone talk to me like that...—

—You would feel terrible if Shiro did that.— He let out a whisper, because he knew, but that didn't meant he had to say it. —Leaving that aside, what happened when you knew you were...?—

—Oh that.— Keith changed the topic as well, of course, he couldn't imagine Shiro ever talking to him like that and that made Kuro’s heart feel better. If he punched him it was alright, because Keith never should take shit from anyone, not even Shiro. —Maybe we should talk with Kolivan, he was the one who explained everything to Shiro and, I still feel a bit...worried about that, or not worried, shy. But, it seems like there are genders in the galra race, and there are sexual genders or something.

—Sounds complicated.— He said, to keep Keith calm, so he didn’t thought he was getting grossed out. —You know, I am, like Shiro, gay as fuck. So whatever your second gender is, I don't fucking care. You’re half human to me and well, I like dicks, you have one? I’m in.—

—You’re a fucking jerk and I hate you.— Keith laughed, it was a sincere laugh and it seemed to work to help him get calm. Of course, he loved Keith beyond that, it didn't matter to him if he was a man or a woman. To him, Keith was Keith and that’s everything he needed. —I wish Shiro could hear you say such things using his mouth.—

Oh, he was going to make sure Shiro got a taste of this mouth, because if he could have Keith, he was going to extend that whisful luck towards Shiro. There was no doubt about it. And somehow, he could picture himself having the two of them for himself and nobody else.

For now, he just stayed there, in Keith’s arms and hugged him, while being hugged back. —I know I’m not from here, I know you just got to know me and probably your mind it’s playing tricks with you, making you feel like you should have some love for me because I’m like Shiro but...I’m glad for all of that. I’m glad because I’ve been wishing for a long time to be just like this with you.—

—You have a pretty innocent mind if this is all you wanted from me.— He caressed his haird, and Kuro could almost picture Keith remembering the days where Shiro and him would be in the Garrison and he would-...oh no. He just remembered. Adam was going to die.

But if he changed something, maybe that was going to be one of the variables that changed.

In the back of his mind, Allura suddenly said “ _If that Adam has to survive for the Universe to be fixed, we will do that._ ”

He could hear Keith calling him, but his mind was spiralling down. What was Shiro going to do if Adam were to be alive and he was healthy? Suddenly this was not only a quest to save the Universes, to fix his own timeline and give them a happy ending.

It was a quest to make sure Keith and Shiro got together before anything could interfere again.

**Author's Note:**

> If you ever want to scream with me about Sheith, I'm at twitter under @zenzenxdameda (I'll also probably ramble about how I'm going to deal with this later)


End file.
